BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Senior guards Rob Phinisee and Xavier Johnson led the Hoosiers to victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sunday.
Johnson tallied 14 points with Phinisee close behind at 13. This is the Hoosiers' eleventh straight win at home, a feat Coach Mike Woodson is proud of, but stresses the importance of turning that energy toward road games.
Here's what Woodson said following the win in a post game press conference.
Q: On Rob Phinisee...
WOODSON: Shooting is a big part of it, but just leading. I mean, Rob has been through the grind of the Big Ten, and he knows the ins and outs of it. He's a senior, so I expect him to lead.
I don't have too many players like Rob that's been on this team that knows the team, and he can't live in the past. I'm just trying to break that past and say, hey, man, here's the ball. It's okay to go lead. It's okay to be good, it really is.
Q. On how Johnson and Phinisee handled the fact they were going to get time to shoot the ball...
WOODSON: Well, I think it's great. I'm not telling them not to shoot. Minnesota forced our hands in terms of shooting threes tonight, the way they sagged in, and they were just basically saying Trayce and Race are not going to beat us. When teams do that, our perimeter guys have got to be ready to step up and make shots.
I thought tonight they did a great job in that area.
Q. On utilizing small guards...
WOODSON: Well, again, I mean, there's not a lot of teams that — when you start playing two small guards, I've got to utilize my two small guards who both can defend off the dribble.
Trey, he defends off the dribble. He got beat a few times tonight, but hell, a lot of us got beat tonight off the bounce. I thought that was a big part of their offense, and we didn't control it that well. Then when we did, we were really good defensively.
Q. On shooting inside baskets...
WOODSON: Well, the mismatch, they went small, so I mean, if they're going to play us small, we've got to spoon-feed the ball inside. That's what we did, and Race had a guard basically guarding him, and he also had battles guarding him, too. So I was like, hey, let's just get it inside and make them stop us.
Q. On looking to Race Thompson...
WOODSON: Yes. If you're not going to double him, I'd take my chances with Race. He can make plays. He's been working on his low-post game. I'm good with that if teams are going to play us that way.
Q. On the defensive lineup in the second half...
MIKE WOODSON: I call it winning basketball. When there's not cutting time, you've got to step up and make plays. They came back from being down as much as 10 and took the lead. Our defense really picked up after that.
We had the lapse and then we started to really pick it back up and play, and then coming down the home stretch those last three, four minutes, we were solid like we were at the end of the first half.
Q. On Johnson's confidence...
WOODSON: I'm trying to give all these guys confidence, but I'm also still trying to coach them, too. That's a part of coaching. There's some tough love there. I'm tough on point guards. I've always been that way. But he's still learning. He's trying to figure me out. Rob is trying to figure me out.
Tonight I thought both of them played extremely well, considering all the hollering and screaming I was doing over there.
Q. On realizing how good Indiana defense is...
WOODSON: Well, you never know. I mean, at the beginning when we started this journey, I told them, hey, guys — and this is after I've done my homework from last year in the Big Ten and just in college basketball in general, if you hold teams 60 and under, you're going to give yourself a chance to win a lot of games.
They believed that. It's shown in our play since we've started the journey, and we've just got to continue to grow and get better in that area.
Q. On road game records...
WOODSON: Yes, we've got to break the ice on the road. I think once we break through, it'll open up a lot of these guys' hearts to know that we're here to play and compete in the Big Ten. But you've got to win on the road, too. You can't lose at home, but you've got to figure out how to win on the road.
Q. On Trayce Jackson-Davis...
WOODSON: Again, it's called trust, and it's not going to be him every night when teams double-team him. Sometimes he's beating double teams, and tonight they just packed it in. Hey, he made the correct passes coming out of the double teams, and guys benefitted from it by making shots. That's how we've got to play.
It's not no surprise; if I'm playing us, hell, I'm going to double him, too, and get it out of his hands, so that's what teams are doing. Hey, he was patient. When he had it, he made the play, and when he didn't have it, he sacrificed the ball, which we need.
Q. On Johnson and Phinisee splitting minutes...
WOODSON: Again, I look at Rob, he never once complained that X was starting and going to be the starter. I brought him here from Pitt to start. That was never an issue with him.
For me, being his coach, that means a lot, because again, it means you're buying into winning. You're all about team. Everybody can't start. I've always said, it ain't who starts, it's who finishes the game.
Hell, he was on the floor at the end of the game making a big contribution to us winning the game tonight, and hey, you can't ask for more. He's about team.
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- HERE'S WHAT GUARDS XAVIER JOHNSON AND ROB PHINISEE SAID AFTER HOOISER WIN OVER MINNESOTA: Indiana claims its second consecutive conference win as they take down the Minnesota Golden Gophers 73-60 at home. Here's what Xavier Johnson and Rob Phinisee had to say in the post game press conference. Read the full transcript, or just watch the video. CLICK HERE.
- HOOSIER GUARDS LEAD INDIANA TO WIN OVER MINNESOTA: With Trayce Jackson-Davis blanketed inside, it was up to Indiana's guards to hit shots on Sunday against Minnesota, and Xavier Johnson and Rob Phinisee did just that. They led the team in scoring in the 73-60 win, the Hoosiers' 11th straight at home under first-year coach Mike Woodson. CLICK HERE.
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